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Monday, August 31, 2015

Traveling Cross Country with Cats

A little over two weeks ago, I made the fifteen hour trek from Indiana to Florida.

Before I packed up all of my things, the thing I was the most nervous about was traveling with my cats. I called up my good friend who is a vet and asked him to hook me up with a magical pill that would put my babies to sleep - or knock them out long enough that they wouldn't mind being trapped in a cage that is as big as they are. I'm pretty sure these cat cages are meant for cats who weigh 5-8 pounds, not my 13 pounders!

While, the pill wasn't as magical right away as I was hoping for, eventually it did kick in and make the ride much more relaxing for me and the fur balls. I always feel like such an awful fur-mama when I hear them cry and attempt to get out of those cages!

I figured I would share a few tips for traveling with cats cross country. (Please remember, I am not a vet - these tips are just based off of my own experience.)

1. Give the cats the sedative at least 2 hours before you plan to leave. This will give it more time to set in and do it's magic. It will also allow the cat to be a bit more relaxed and calm making it easier to put in the carrier when you do plan to leave.

2. You most likely won't need or want to have a litter box in the back seat. Normally when I travel with the cats when they aren't sedated I have a litter box open but this time I opted out. The cats were way to drugged up to walk and they didn't have any accidents in their cage. Throw a couple paper towels, newspaper, or bath towels in the cage if you are worried about accidents.

3. If possible, put the cats in the front seat next to you (or next to someone else in the backseat.) I kept a towel over their cages so they wouldn't be freezing from the AC. It made me feel 10x better knowing that I could actually see them and pet them while driving.

4. When you stop at rest areas let them out for a few minutes to sit in your lap. I think it's good to let them stretch a bit. If you are afraid they will try and walk all over the car just keep them in their cage (keep in mind, they're pretty drugged up and can't walk straight.)

5. Do the math. My ride was 14-15 hours long and the meds said they would last 6-8 hours. I gave the cats a pill 2 hours before I left, 5 hours into the trip, and then again 6 hours later. I figured it would be better to still have them drugged up a bit when I unpacked them into the new house.

6. If possible, have their new litter box set up before you arrive. Luckily for me, Jon had moved in earlier in the day and he was able to get all of their stuff ready so right when I got there all I had to do was show them where the box was and cross my fingers they remembered when the drugs wore off!

If you are traveling with cats anytime soon, keep these tips in mind and talk to your vet as well as they will know your pet much better than I!